August 12, 2003

The Original Blogger

That’s the tag line for Bob Graham’s new blog, which you may visit here. In reading the comments for one post, I noticed this exchange, which I thought many bloggers would find of interest:

Love this new website! It’s great to have this conversational format.

But what the heck is “original blogger”? A blog is short for “web log”. (I prefer weblog to blog, but whatever.) How can he be the original blogger when the web has only existed for 10 years? It’s silly and makes you lose credibility. Posted by: Steve D at August 11, 2003 05:50 AM

I love the “original blogger.” Why? Because Bob Graham has been keeping a daily log for so many years, and I have no doubt it’s a major part of his success. I only wish I could be so self-disciplined.

As to the definition of “blogger,” it’s a new, made-up word, so it’s really quite open to whatever it becomes. All new slang words are defined by their usage, and the concept of a blog is equally as related to a log as it is to the web. To me, it’s just a log or diary that happens to be on the web. Since Bob has been keeping a log for longer than many bloggers have been alive, and he’s now on the web, he’s the original in my book.Posted by: Laura Kinsale at August 11, 2003 12:28 PM

Laura Kinsale is a regular contributor to Graham’s blog; you can read the full post and comments here.